8. Creating a Codespace

Repeat Codespaces

For every new branch you make in your repository, you must create a new codespace. This is a virtual environment that will allow you to run your code and test it before merging it into the main branch. It may take a few minutes to create the codespace, but once it is created, you can access it from the browser and subsequent access will be much faster.

8.1. Steps

  1. Open your forked repository in GitHub.

  2. On the left side of the page select the branch you want to work on.

    Screen shot showing the Demo branch is selected.

  3. Click on the green Code button which will display a Local and a Codespaces tab, then click the Codespaces tab.

    Screen shot showing the Codespace tab being clicked.

  4. Click on the green button that says “Create codespace on”.

    Screen shot showing the green button that says create codespace on.

  5. Wait for the codespace to be created. This may take a few minutes.

  6. Once the codespace is created, you will be taken to the codespace in your browser. This is a browser based version of VS Code that can be used to make your changes and build the HTML pages to review your changes.

  7. Enter CTRL + SHIFT + B to build the project. You can also run the build task from the Terminal menu.

    Screen shot of Terminal menu with Run Build Task selected.

  8. The build messages will be displayed. Look to see a “build succeeded” message. Then a pop up will indicate an application is running.

    Screen shot of build messages with Open in Browser button.

  9. If you click the Open in Browser button a new tab will open displaying the HTML pages you just built.

  10. You can now make your changes. See the section on Learning to create ReStructured Text (.rst).